->''"The preceding paragraph is all stuff I just made up. But it's canonical now."''-->-- '''[[http://truepenny.livejournal.com/596516.html Sarah Monette]]'''

%%Extra quotes can go on the quotes tab.

A statement regarding some ambiguous or undefined aspect of a work, the Word of God comes from someone considered to be the ultimate authority, such as the creator, director, or producer. Such edicts can even go against events as were broadcast, due to someone making a mistake.

Fans may look for the Word of God to settle {{Fanon}} disputes, but the Authority may have moved on and [[ShrugOfGod doesn't care to respond]]. In many cases the authority does not feel the ''need'' to respond; further pressure simply leads to suggestions [[MisaimedFandom that the fandom is misaimed]] and ViewersAreMorons.

Note that a number of people [[FanonDiscontinuity reject]] the notion of Word of God, considering something to be {{canon}} only if it appeared in the original source material, and that if the creator wanted a certain fact to be canon, they should have included it in the work to begin with. Some people go even further, considering the uncertainty and ambiguity of canon to be a ''good'' thing and decry the Word of God as shackling the imagination and interpretations of the fans -- a belief supported by some modern literary criticism, notably in Wimstatt and Beardsley's "The Intentional Fallacy" and Barthes' DeathOfTheAuthor essay, both of which argue that the interpretation of a work cannot be limited to attempts to discern the "author's intentions."

Another thorny issue is that not all stories have a single creator, and the collaborators may not actually agree with interpretations of their story that weren't made explicit in the work. This is especially likely if they no longer work together, and particularly if they had a real-life falling out. In this case, there are multiple "Gods" given potentially contradictory explanations, so whose word is to be considered correct? Likewise, in many cases [[GodDoesNotOwnThisWorld the writers of a story are not the copyright holders]], meaning that they're not the highest authorities on its meaning even if you do subscribe to the Word of God theory.

It's important to remember that if you disagree with the Word of God, there's nothing wrong with writing [[AlternateUniverseFic fan fiction that contradicts it]], just don't try to foist your preferred {{Fanon}} on fans who acknowledge the official canon or on the actual creator of the work.

If a work has more than one creator and they disagree with each other on a crucial point, you'll likely see fans embrace conflicting statements. What happens when multiple fans are equipped with the Word of God? What happens when one Word turns out to be more ridiculous than expected? [[ArmedWithCanon Bible fight!]] The term 'StoryBible' is sometimes used for the definitive guidelines for writing an episode of a TV series. Two writers quoting the StoryBible back and forth are having a Bible Fight.

See also: {{Revision}}, CanonDiscontinuity, CreatorWorship, BrokenBase. When the word does not come from the creator themself but from someone involved in some ancillary role in production, that's WordOfSaintPaul. When the word does not come from the original creators but over time is still treated as such it is WordOfDante. Doesn't always end up giving fans the answers they were looking for, such as in the case of a FlipFlopOfGod or a ShrugOfGod. Cases of God deliberately misleading the audience go under LyingCreator or TrollingCreator. Contrast DeathOfTheAuthor, WhatCouldHaveBeen and GodNeverSaidThat. WordOfGay is a subtrope. One way that a theory can be {{Jossed}}. For actual scripture, see "Religion" under UsefulNotes.

----

!!Examples with sources cited.When or where this example can be found is included%%Please do not add examples to this section without noting when or where it was said. If it's available online, please include a link. The source citation doesn't need to be exhaustively documented, but it should be more detailed than "they said". Something like "During a panel at Comic Con.." or "In the forums for the webcomic..." or "In the FAQ..." or "In [[link: this]] interview..." You get the idea.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* Eiichiro Oda, creator of ''OnePiece'', runs a column in the collected volumes of his work, devoted to Word of God explanations of various ''One Piece'' minutia. He is delightfully laid back about it, sometimes making explanations up on the spot, or even [[AscendedFanon allowing fans to write the canon for him]]:-->'''Fan:''' I think Chopper's birthday should be December 24th!-->'''Oda:''' [[AscendedFanon Okay]].** Note that Oda isn't above lying about certain things. [[spoiler:He said Sabo was dead. [[CaptainObvious Sabo turned out to be alive]].]]* In an interview in the [[AllThereInTheManual "How To Read"]] volume of ''Manga/DeathNote'', Tsugumi Ohba expressly states that the random girl at the very end is '''not''' Misa Amane and is just stuck in there for the sake of something pretty. Many actively ignore this for the sole reason that [[FanonDiscontinuity they think that's how it should be]].** Ohba also states that s/he wanted it clear that [[spoiler: dead characters are dead forever and can't come back to life. Sorry, guys, [[HesJustHiding they're not hiding]].]]** Other things Ohba and Obata are explicit about include the fact that [[spoiler: L lies about Light being his friend,]] and that Light, while "diabolical", genuinely loves his family and "humanity as a whole". You can imagine how this goes down with [[DieForOurShip some sections]] [[NeverLiveItDown of fandom]].** However, in regards to L lying about [[spoiler:Light being his friend,]] "How to Read" also says on L's character page that [[spoiler: "Even while fighting him as an enemy, L establishes a weird friendship with Light." in regards to that quote.]] So while the initial statement may have been a lie, it eventually became true.*** It also gives us the closest we're ever going to get to an official answer regarding [[spoiler: Matsuda's theory that Near controlled Mikami with the Death Note: that readers are meant to draw their own conclusions. However, said book also mentions that Near is "dishonest" and "the more evil" of him and Mello.]]* In an interview about ''Manga/{{X1999}}'', Nanase Ohkawa, the script writer for {{CLAMP}}, mentioned several times to the interviewer that [[AllLovingHero Kamui]] and [[BigBad Fuuma]] are now [[HoYay more than friends, apparently]], despite the fact that not only are they mortal enemies, and while tension is apparent, they've stayed pretty firmly in "good friends" territory, but Kamui is still enamored with his [[spoiler:dead]] childhood friend, the (female) Kotori. She even told the interviewer not to call them friends, as if no one can figure out that CLAMP has a thing for sudden homosexual relationships.* Masaki Kajishima, the original creator of ''TenchiMuyo'' and the main writer for the ''Ryo-Oh-Ki'' {{OVA}}s (even called "Kajishima canon" in Japan), is very fond of releasing tie-in novels, factbooks, doujinshis and other infodumps, where he explains his [[TheVerse 'verse]] in more depth -- mainly because he couldn't readily obtain funding for the next series, but still has something to say. These infodumps are generally treated as canon by Japanese fans, but tend not to appear in the West. Basically, these are the things that Kajishima ''will'' make canon if/when the copyright holder (AIC) greenlights more [=OVAs=]. Until then, he's left in the unusual circumstance of essentially writing fanfic about his own anime.* ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' creator Kouta Hirano grew tired of fielding questions from detail obsessed fans about Alucard never being shown reloading his guns and where Anderson kept all of his bayonets in the manga. He got around this in a Q&A {{Omake}} by saying that "they're all cosmoguns that hold a million rounds" and "Anderson is four dimensional".* The director of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' mentioned that there would have been four [[OfficialCouple official couples]] by the end of Adventure 02 if [[ShippingWars the staff managed to get along regarding who should end up with who]]. To make things fair, he put the four couples in a hat and pulled two out, and those couples are the ones that ended up canonically married in the epilogue. For reference, the couples that married were [[TheLancer Matt]]/[[ActionGirl Sora]] and [[TheAtoner Ken]]/[[GenkiGirl Yolei]]. The other two were [[spoiler:[[TheSmartGuy Izzy]]/[[TheDitz Mimi]] and [[ForegoneConclusion Takeru/Hikari]].]]* KenAkamatsu occasionally has interviews in the {{Omake}} sections of the compiled ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' volumes where he sometimes clears up questions unanswered in the actual manga, such as the specifics of the pactio system, or how Kaede carries her [[{{BFS}} giant shuriken]] around.** He also tends to update his Twitter account and online journal to point out errors in the chapters (from important points such as one character's element being labeled Ice instead of Water by mistake to trivial matters such as one character being shaded incorrectly), among other things.* George Morikawa, the author of ''Manga/HajimeNoIppo'', named the top three boxers in chapter 361 of the manga. The strongest pound-for-pound boxer is, without a doubt, Takamura. Ranking second is Ricardo Martinez. Surprisingly, he names Miyata as the third best boxer and Ippo around the 8th place.** In terms of Miyata, it makes perfect sense. His fighting style is a mix of "high-risk, high-reward" with his impeccable countering and critical speed followed by his extremely risky counter techniques that do '''MAJOR''' damage on par with Ippo's Dempsey Roll. It just shows that "physical power" isn't the only application that can garner "pound-for-pound" abilities, as though he may be less powerful naturally, countering more than makes up for such weakness.* ''Manga/DragonBall'' author Akira Toriyama has provided a fair bit of information in interview sections of guide books ranging from the structure of the afterlife to Saiyan biology.* Hajime Kanzaka, the writer for the original ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' novels and head writer for the anime, often answers and confirms anything involving how the fantasy elements in the series works, or who is who and what they are.* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' creator Creator/HiromuArakawa stated in an artbook that the only reason Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye aren't married is because of the military regulations. This was implied to be the only reason, effectively validating fans' theories of their romantic involvement.* The creator of ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Yoshihiro Togashi, has stated that Sensui and Itsuki are a gay male couple. He experiences as much backlash as he does because the only open affection shown is on Itsuki's part.* ''Anime/TigerAndBunny''[='=]s director and scriptwriter have given dozens of tidbits about events and characters, from trivial (Keith's a bit of a health nut and Antonio's afraid of heights) to rather serious (Kotetsu's FatalFlaw stems from a fear of hurting people he developed after gaining his powers, and [[spoiler:Maverick has screwed with Barnaby's memories quite a bit more than what was shown in the series]]). The ''Hero Gossip Book'' gives even more info -- from their pajamas to first crushes to everyone's daily schedules.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* A ''Wizard'' magazine interview with then-current ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' writer Creator/KurtBusiek and artist George Perez asked each one to convey a WordOfGod factoid that nobody else could provide. The contrast is striking: Busiek went for [[ContinuityPorn a one-sentence retcon that filled in a dangling plot thread from an obscure story from the seventies]]; Perez revealed that [[PerverseSexualLust the Scarlet Witch, his favorite character, does not wear underwear]].* Brian Clevinger himself came onto TVTropes to deliver a Word of God in regards to ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo''.* Gerry Conway said in this podcast interview (about 34 minutes in) (http://wordballoon.blogspot.com/2009/06/gerry-conway-on-last-days-of-animal-man.html) that Gwen Stacy was killed because John Romita Sr. wanted to shake up Spider-Man by killing off a major character. Romita wanted to kill off Aunt May but Conway suggested killing Gwen because he thought she was a fairly standard superhero love interest and thought Mary Jane would make a more interesting love interest.* On December 15, 2010, ComicBook/SpiderMan creator Creator/StanLee posted the following tweet: "I herewith proclaim, for the world to see, that J. Jonah Jameson’s first name is — Jeremiah! And so it shall remain—till I change my mind!" (Although this does seem a bit contradictory, however; while Jameson never actually confirmed that his name was "John" in the comic, almost everyone assumed that it was, due to the fact it is the name of both his father and son.)** Speaking of Stan Lee and J. Jonah Jameson, Lee has also admitted on ''Talk of the Nation'' that the character was designed as a grouchier caricature of himself, and has also said that he would have jumped on the opportunity to portray him in a movie. * There's three things Creator/BrianMichaelBendis is particularly known for: [[WritingForTheTrade A decompressed style that takes forever to advance the plot]], his love of {{troll}}ing readers, and this. For example, Bendis responded to reader revolt over his poor characterization of Comicbook/{{X 23}} by stating on his Tumblr that her experiences on [[Comicbook/AvengersAcademy Murderworld]] changed her (rather than addressing it on-panel), claiming that ExecutiveMeddling altered his plans for ''Comicbook/BattleOfTheAtom'' (and that the deviations in a second battle with the future brotherhood [[RetCon steer things where he originally planned them to go]]), or confirming that [[spoiler: the time travel ending of the Will arc of ''Uncanny X-Men'' would not remove Xavier, Jr. from the timeline]]. And his Word Of God statements ''frequently'' get snarky, especially when combined with his love of trolling the readers or when responding to criticism.* ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}'' [[http://comicbook.com/2015/05/27/decoding-convergence-with-jeff-king-the-finale/ Writer Jeff King confirmed]] [[spoiler:that all the characters held hostage by Telos regained their lost lives, meaning Superman, Lois and little Jonathan got to live happily ever after]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]* The author of ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures'', [=ThatPersonYouMightKnow=], has confirmed many things on the fan forum that pertain to the series. Here are some notable examples:** [[spoiler: Tama and Tojo both went to heaven after dying, despite their sinister actions.]]** [[spoiler: The Interceptor became the pride's best hunter after ''The End''.]]** [[spoiler: Haiba never entered a proper relationship when he grew up.]]** [[spoiler: Haiba did eventually get over murdering Tama.]]** The fan nickname Anti-Haiba was accepted as canon.** Rafiki existed, hence why he is occasionally referenced, but [=ThatPersonYouMightKnow=] has confirmed that he died after Series 3.** Twiga, the giraffe from ''Haiba's Wish'', is in fact gay.* The author of ''FanFic/KiraIsJustice'' uses Author's Notes often to elaborate about facts in the story, and is always happy to give WordOfGod.* Sometimes used in ''Fanfic/WhiteDevilOfTheMoon'' to address matters such as Nanoha's reactions to her past life as Serenity, and how four Inner Senshi are able to defeat six trained Bureau operatives despite being less well-trained and not having Usagi/Nanoha's leadership.* The character's corner and author's note in ''FanFic/TheTaintedGrimoire'' have both clarified a few things, such as reasons for making one thing the way it is. Also, through private messaging, cuttingmoon57 revealed him/herself to be a fan of TVTropes.* Monica Gilbey-Bieber, the author of the TrollFic ''FanFic/OneLessLonelyGurl'', has a commentary of his own fanfic in [[http://trollseyeview.blogspot.com his blog]]. The commentary reveals interesting bits and trivia about the fanfic.* In ''Fanfic/PerfectionIsOverrated'', the author notes detail information about things such as how characters (both the canon characters and [[ParodySue SUEs]]) are portrayed, some of what the author hoped to get across, and various other information, such as the fact that [[WeAREStrugglingTogether any attempt at collaboration between the SUEs would fail]].* Tropers/MagicConan14 gives bits of trivia on her profile page, on her blog and in author notes. One reference in ''FanFic/TheDoveThief'' gets the award for most notable because there's an asterisk sitting in the middle of the fic.* ''Fanfic/{{Bait and Switch|STO}}'' has an "Author's Notes" section at the end of each chapter that explains various things (e.g. why the USS ''Bajor'' has more BeamSpam than the ''Enterprise''-D ever did, that Tess Phohl is an agnostic despite her [[OhMyGods taking the name of an Andorian war goddess in vain]], and why Section 31 Agent Grell is tolerated). The author has also posted a number of characters' backstories on the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fanon wiki Memory Gamma. Tropers/StarSword later did the same thing with another fic, ''Fanfic/RedFireRedPlanet''.* The author of ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'' keeps updates on his works and answers questions about the story. He also has explained many parts of the backstory and fleshed out the setting, and he has explained his reasoning for rewriting his story.* The author of ''[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/PostMULifeScream Post MU: Life's a Scream!!]] '' has given bits and pieces of her characters' relationships and background information about Monsters University as well as the Monster World, which can be found [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WordOfGod/PostMULifeScream here.]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]* Creator/RidleyScott has been very clear in interviews in stating that, in his film ''Film/BladeRunner'', Deckard himself was a replicant. The only clues that this might be true in the movie, though, are the fact that Deckard's eyes briefly luminesce in one shot (and he's out of focus and in the background, at that) and the origami unicorn left by Gaff (Edward James Olmos) after Deckard dreamed of a unicorn. Unfortunately for anyone who saw the film in theaters and was trying to add up the clues, the unicorn dream was one of the victims of the ExecutiveMeddling that the film underwent after leaving Scott's hands. The final half of a line by Gaff at the end of the film ("You've done a man's job sir... but are you a man?"), which raises the issue even if it fails to resolve it, was also cut. (It appears in its entirety in "Dangerous Days," the documentary about the making of the film in the 5-disc Final Cut collector's edition.)** This is also a very good example of a deeply conflicted idea among the core creative team, as nearly everybody else involved with the making of the film believed that Deckard is a human, albeit one whose humanity has been ground down by the nature of his job. From Philip K. Dick (who wrote the original novel), to Hampton Fancher and David Peoples (who wrote the screenplay), to Harrison Ford (who played Deckard), the list of people who thought Scott was wrong is extensive, and powerful enough in creative terms to give ''Auteur Theory'' advocates a headache. It was hardly the ''only'' case of duelling WordOfGod during the filming; the scene where Deckard essentially forces Rachael to kiss him (with all its squicky undertones) was another case where the screenwriters (and Rutger Hauer, who played Roy Batty) deeply disagreed with Scott's take on the material. It's very possible that the conflicts are what make the film such a Cult hit: whatever your take on the film, it's likely there was someone involved in making it who shared that view, simultaneously vindicating your reading and providing lots and lots to debate about with other fans.* Ridley Scott again; is [[Film/{{Hannibal}} Hannibal Lecter]] a madman? While most, including Anthony Hopkins, would ''not'' deny it, Scott does not think so. In Scott's own words in his audio commentary on ''Film/{{Hannibal}}'', "There is something very moral about Lecter in this film. The behavior of Hannibal is never insane – [I] didn't want to use that excuse. Is he insane? No, I think he's as sane as you or I. He just likes it." Having said that, Scott went on to say that he did think that Verger's objective in the film, wanting to capture Hannibal and subject him to a horrible death by torture, likely made him replace Hannibal as the true antagonist. * In the introductory documentary from the VHS Special Edition of ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'' (as well as an interview for ''The Mythology of Star Wars with George Lucas and Bill Moyers'') George Lucas stomped on the idea that "bringing balance to the Force" involved equalising the Light and Dark sides -- apparently, the Dark Side is inherently an imbalance. Wookieepedia has the relevant quotes in their article on the [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Chosen_One Chosen One]].** Any throwaway comment by George Lucas pertaining to the original two trilogies is accepted as canon, regardless of how ridiculous it is. See : Admiral Motti's first name and the true home world of Obi-Wan Kenobi.* Toho has stated that Film/KingKong won in both the American and Japanese versions of ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla''.* ''Film/PansLabyrinth'' left it ambiguous whether the fairy tale stuff was real or all in Ophelia's head, as if it was intentionally open to interpretation and left for the viewer to decide. However in the DVD commentary, the director Guilermo Del Toro says that it was real, or at least that he believes it is.* The original ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' leaves it ambiguous whether Arnold Schwarzenegger's character actually is having the adventure, or he is hallucinating as his brain is being fried by a memory-implantation malfunction. The fact that the film ends with a fade to white instead of black suggests it's a hallucination, and Paul Verhoeven confirms this in the commentary; Arnold Schwarzenegger played the part using the assumption that it was real.* In ''Film/MrBrooks'', it's implied that [[spoiler:Mr. Brooks' daughter killed a man and hid it from him, but it was off screen and never shown.]] We never find out definitively whether she did it or not, and some viewers don't accept that she did. However, the DVD commentary [[spoiler: says definitively that she did.]]* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', though it's not actually explicitly stated, Harvey Dent/Two Face is, according to Creator/ChristopherNolan, [[KilledOffForReal dead]]. Additionally, the screenplay explicitly states that Harvey/Two Face "dies from a broken neck". Even if it’s a case of two separate personalities, that still doesn’t allow Harvey to die and Two-Face to live.** Aaron Eckhart has also mentioned in interviews that he asked Nolan if Harvey Dent/Two Face was dead. Nolan confirmed it to Eckhart.* The director of the 2008 ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' had a rare chance on the DVD commentary to fully explain a cliffhanger ending, as he himself doesn't know whether Bruce has turned evil: if his next appearance is in the ''Avengers'' film he has, and if it's another Hulk film he hasn't.** Since ''Film/TheAvengers'' has hit the theaters this situation can be solved: [[spoiler:Although there is a lot of tension in the beginning and everybody treads very carefully around the Hulk, he is part of the team and drives into the sunset with Tony Stark.]]* This is the reason that the Wachowskis refuse to talk about their own interpretation of the ''[[Film/TheMatrix Matrix]]'' [[Film/TheMatrix trilogy]]; in the introduction they wrote for the ''Ultimate Matrix Collection'', they state that they don't want their own opinions to be cited as definitive, since the blind acceptance of dogma flies in the face of the trilogy's themes.* Misled in ''Film/HalloweenII1981''. It was initially stated by the creators that [[spoiler:Michael burned to death]]. However, they were forced to retcon this in ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'' due to poor reception of ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch''.* ''Film/HotFuzz'' includes a special feature called the Fuzz-o-Meter, which pops up bits of trivia about the film. Much of the trivia includes bits and pieces about the story or characters that had been written into the script, but never made it to film. One of the 'facts' claims that the film was inspired by true events, only they involved zombies.** Another 'fact' states that director Edgar Wright's eyeballs exploded during post-production.* In ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'', the commentaries have answered a few unanswered questions, specifically in ''Film/Saw3D'', in which the writers have stated that [[spoiler:Hoffman does not escape the bathroom and dies there,]] and that the two [[spoiler:pig masks who helped Dr. Gordon capture him are Brad and Ryan from the opening.]]* For the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' series, there has been a bit of debate (particularly by a stubborn wikipedia admin) as to whether [[spoiler: Jason is dead after being completely incinerated in Earth 2's atmosphere (except for his mask) at the end of ''Film/JasonX'']]. Though a comic and a novel series retcons this, most Jason comics fit into CanonDiscontinuity, and it's Word of God that [[spoiler: Jason is listed under the Jump to Death menu on the official DVD, with "Atmosphere" even listed as cause of death]].* During the dubbing process of ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' Soundwave's English voice actor (Creator/FrankWelker) was brought on to dub the character for the French and Italian versions (amongst others, sans Japanese and German *Considered to be sub-standard*), [[http://www.newsarama.com/tv/090915-Animated-Shorts-Welker.html he described the process as very hard and that "Soundwave in French is not to be believed"]].* On the DVD commentary of "{{Sideways}}", the actors mention that according to the writer/director [[spoiler:Maya does not live there any more when Miles knocks on her door]].* During the filming of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', Creator/IanMcKellen had the costumers sew a pocket into his robe in which he [[http://books.google.com/books?id=IMnXmrJJ1AgC&pg=PA255&lpg=PA255&dq=mckellen+%22lord+of+the+rings%22+pocket+robe&source=bl&ots=TmIJjEarCV&sig=UEZQWdN4IppoIVkeelX1QHZZ1Fs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=A3UNUZXWN4Pj2QXZkYHoAg&ved=0CFUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=mckellen%20%22lord%20of%20the%20rings%22%20pocket%20robe&f=false carried a copy of Tolkien's book]], for use in settling debates about the author's intent.* Writer Parker Bennett of the Film/SuperMarioBros film clarified many details about the universe's backstory in a 2010 interview with The Super Mario Bros. The Movie Archive website.* For years, viewers of ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' have wondered [[OddFriendship how the heck]] [[IntergenerationalFriendship Marty McFly and Doc Brown]] know each other and became HeterosexualLifePartners. Bob Gale, the co-creator of the movies, FINALLY gave a [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments admittedly rather heartwarming]] explanation [[http://mentalfloss.com/article/28526/back-future-co-creator-bob-gale-explains-how-marty-and-doc-became-friends over on Mental Floss]] (later confirming with a photograph that yes, he IS the real deal!).* ''{{Film/Enemy}}'': The director says that the spiders seen from the beginning to [[GainaxEnding the end]] symbolize femininity. What ''that'' in turn means, [[MindScrew however]]...* For ''Film/IntoTheWoods'', [[http://www.playbill.com/news/article/sondheim-reveals-plot-changes-for-disney-into-the-woods-film-322631 Sondheim tried to convince Disney executives to have Rapunzel killed off in the movie and follow the musical's continuity.]] However, the executives refused, so original stage writer and film screenwriter James Lapine then rewrote the fate of Rapunzel and toned down darker aspects of her character, and a new song "She'll Be Back" was written for the Witch to sing after Rapunzel leaves with her Prince (it was later cut and will be on the Blu-ray release).[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* Much of the information regarding what happens to the characters after the end of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' has come from interviews with Creator/JKRowling, or postings on [[http://www.jkrowling.com her own website.]] Many of the interviews are archived on [[http://www.mugglenet.com Muggle-net]] or [[http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/ The Leaky Cauldron]]. Rowling is also writing a ''Literature/HarryPotter'' encyclopedia which will contain background information which never made it into the novels, thus turning WordOfGod into AllThereInTheManual when it's published.** The strength of WordOfGod in the Harry Potter fandom seems unusual compared to many other literature fandoms, possibly because of the sheer amount of interview material given by Rowling. The massive success of the series made her very powerful, to the point that most people in the fandom have read a great number of interviews, and everything she says gets archived and treated as gospel truth (even though she sometimes contradicts herself or changes things later on). It's nearly impossible to find a Harry Potter roleplay or fandom community that doesn't treat interview material as equally important as the content of the actual series, and individuals who try to theorize about or play characters based solely on the book content will find themselves attacked for not knowing enough about the character.** JK Rowling loves giving Word of God so much that she is apparently launching a [[http://www.pottermore.com whole new website]] just to give her fans some more.** However, her claim about Dumbledore's sexuality could be an exception: a large part of both fandom [[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/arts/29conn.html?_r=1 and critics]] refuses to accept it, since it heavily changes the understanding of some of the character's motives and doesn't fit into their mental image of Dumbledore.* David Weber, writer of (among other things) the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series, occasionally makes proclamations on points of confusion by fans, on the newsgroup featuring him (alt.books.david-weber) and the [[http://bar.baen.com Baen Bar]], a forum maintained by Creator/BaenBooks, the publisher of many ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}} works. These are occasionally collected, and posted [[http://infodump.thefifthimperium.com/ here]] for perusal by those not reading the forums and/or newsgroup, maintained by Joe Buckley (who's a regular RedShirt in various Baen-published novels; ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' has had several Buckleys killed in and of itself).* Creator/NeilGaiman has [[http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/11/18/twilight-a-hit-among-comic-book-writers-kids-just-ask-neil-gaiman-and-mike-mignola/ said in interviews]] that he intended Silas from ''Literature/TheGraveyardBook'' to be a vampire. On the other hand, he also said [[{{Applicability}} "If you miss it, that's fine. You'll just get a slightly different book."]]* Creator/AaronAllston, writer of part of the XWingSeries, in his [[http://www.aaronallston.com/faq.html faq]] posits what he thinks happened to his characters in the twenty or so years between Wraith Squadron and the Vong War, as well as some details that never made it into the books, like ship names.* Creator/JohnScalzi parodied the controversy over the canonicity of J.K. Rowling's WordOfGay for Dumbledore by posting a list of facts about the protagonist of ''Literature/OldMansWar'' on [[http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/10/29/things-you-didnt-know-about-john-perry/ his blog]] and declaring them canonical. They included "He is allergic to blueberries" and "He is distantly related to UsefulNotes/DwightEisenhower".* Creator/OrsonScottCard's book ''[[Literature/OrsonScottCardsEmpire Empire]]'' (a prequel, of sorts, to the XBoxLiveArcade game ''VideoGame/ShadowComplex'') ends with an interesting, and quite apt, afterward written by the author about the problems of extremisim in the American Political Parties, which we're told is what moral of the book was meant to be.* For a while, Lois Lowry refused to explain the GainaxEnding of ''Literature/TheGiver,'' which could be interpreted as either the main character's [[spoiler:triumphant escape from his dystopian society or a DyingDream as he froze to death]]. However, after asking if anyone had any questions at the author [=Q&A=] of the 2009 National Book Festival in Washington, DC, Lowry added, [[spoiler:"Jonas is alive, by the way. You don't have to ask that one."]]* Creator/BrandonSanderson provides a lot of Word of God on his books mostly in the chapter annotations and blog on [[http://www.brandonsanderson.com/index.php his site]] and also in interviews, which are usually linked to on his blog.* Sir Creator/TerryPratchett used to post regularly to the {{Usenet}} group alt.books.pratchett, giving Word of God on things like [[https://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.pratchett/msg/7c0359779eeba9dd?hl=en how Rincewind's age relates to how much time has passed since CoM, how many Patricians we've seen]] and [[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.books.pratchett/msg/c81497c93e642e69?hl=en how the clacks was constructed]].* Creator/JimButcher has given so much Word of God over the years that it has been fan-dubbed the Word of Jim, most of which can be found on the [[http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/ Jim Butcher Forums]]. Interviews, convention panels, forum threads, you name it; if he says it, it gets written down as truth—even [[http://twitter.com/longshotauthor Twitter]] has been used to convey Word of Jim. There's so much Word of Jim [[http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/board,43.0.html there's even a board]] dedicated to archiving it.* Creator/IsaacAsimov used to tell a story about how he once got into an argument with a literary critic--who didn't know he was speaking with the author--about the meaning of one of his stories. At the end Asimov pulled out what he thought was his trump card: "I should know; I wrote it!" to which the critic replied "[[DeathOfTheAuthor What's that got to do with it]]?" Asimov later turned this into a story with William Shakespeare (brought forward in time) flunks a class in his works.* Creator/AnneMcCaffrey, starting in the mid '90s, put out several Word of God proclamations regarding The ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' series. She also responded personally to emails during the period from the early 90s through the very early 2000s, and the resulting canon arguments based on interpretations of her letters could get fierce. Now, people are more likely to just attribute things to Anne Science and move on, and in some cases even the books themselves aren't considered canon by many groups, especially those written by her son.** The most notable of her edicts was the one titled "Pern's Renewable Airforce". There were two versions of this, one from [[http://www.oocities.org/area51/vault/2726/ammsg.html 1997]], and an edited and slightly saner version which was propagated in [[http://www.dragonridersclub.com/drmain/ammsg.html 2000]]. The earlier version prompted many fan groups to suddenly require characters to adhere to rules regarding sexual orientation that in many ways made no sense, like all male green and blueriders suddenly having to be gay, and absolutely no lesbian or bisexual dragonriders, period. People who entered fandom before this point or through a group which never adopted these rules still largely think they're absolutely insane; people who started later tended to accept them more as a matter.** Then there was [[http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Tent_Peg_Statement the tent peg]], full sources for which are scarce on the web a decade and a half later, but the full thing was circulated around the same time as the original Renewable Airforce memo.* In the ''[[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Wheel of Time]]'' book series, many fans speculated that [[spoiler:Demandred was disguised as Mazrim Taim]]. This theory persisted until [[{{Jossed}} Robert Jordan himself discredited it.]] [[http://wotfaq.dragonmount.com/node/35]]* Creator/TamoraPierce has done this on numerous occasions. The blog [[http://tpwords.wordpress.com/ Words of Tamora Pierce]] has gathered numerous statements taken from forum discussions, con appearances, etcetera, although it's limited to the ''Literature/TortallUniverse'' and hasn't updated for a couple of years. You can also find her on ''[[Blog/MarkDoesStuff Mark Reads]]'' under the username "scrivener212," every now and again.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]* In later seasons of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', questions not answered in the actual show tended to be addressed only in Creator/JossWhedon's interviews. Some fans considered anything Joss said in an interview to be canon, while others did not and were annoyed by this practice.* Responding to a message board request, ''Series/{{Coupling}}'' creator (and sole writer) Creator/StevenMoffat wrote a breakdown of the characters' lives several years after the fourth and final season. This gave Moffat the chance to write an "ending" for the character of Jeff, despite actor Richard Coyle leaving the previous year.** Unfortunately, because the primary source (an old Dr. Who forum called Outpost Gallifrey) has closed, TheOtherWiki wouldn't keep it on the show's page anymore because of lack of citation, so if it pleases the crowds, here is the text to be preserved for everyone to read:

--> "Sally said yes to Patrick, they got married and are very happy... especially as Sally beat Susan to the altar, and finally did something first. Patrick is now a completely devoted husband, who lives in total denial that he was anything other an upstanding member of the community. Or possibly he's actually forgotten. He doesn't like remembering things because it's a bit like thinking.

-->Jane and Oliver never actually did have sex, but they did become very good friends. They often rejoice together that their friendship is uncomplicated by any kind of sexual attraction - but they both get murderously jealous when the other is dating. Jane has a job at Oliver's science fiction book shop now - and since Oliver has that one moment of Naked Jane burnt on the inside of his eyelids, he now loses the place in one in every three sentences. People who know them well think something's gotta give - and they're right. Especially as Jane comes to work in a metal bikini.

-->Steve and Susan have two children now, and have recently completed work on a sitcom about their early lives together. They're developing a new television project, but it keeps getting delayed as he insists on writing episodes of some [[Series/DoctorWho old kids show]] they recently pulled out of mothballs. She gets very cross about this, and if he says "Yeah but check out the season poll!" one more time, he will not live to write another word.

-->Jeff is still abroad. He lives a life of complete peace and serenity now, having taken the precaution of not learning a word of the local language and therefore protecting himself from the consequences of his own special brand of communication. If any English speakers turn up, he pretends he only speaks Hebrew. He is, at this very moment, staring out to sea, and sighing happily every thirty-eight seconds.

-->What he doesn't know, of course, is that even now a beautiful Israeli girl he once met in a bar, is heading towards his apartment, having been directed to the only Hebrew speaker on the island. What he also doesn't know is that she is being driven by a young ex-pat English woman, who is still grieving the loss of a charming, one-legged Welshman she once met on a train. And he cannot possibly suspect that (owing to a laundry mix-up, and a stag party the previous night in the same block) he is wearing heat-dissolving trunks.

-->As the doorbell rings, it is best that we draw a veil."

** Moffat also demonstrated his power on his twitter, in relation to Doctor Who:--> "Not it isn't [his name]. That's just what some guy CALLED him. And WHOOSH! that's canonical now. See my power!!!"

* In weekly podcasts, the producers of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' have occasionally clarified plot points, such as confirming Jae Lee's death in "The Glass Ballerina" was a suicide. However, they are not always to be taken at their word: before season 3, in a long list of things we ''wouldn't'' see, they named "Desmond running naked through the jungle." Which did show up.** Notably, they had to step in after the series finale to explain the images shown above the series finale's credits of pieces of flight 815 on the beach, devoid of people, were only to [[ExecutiveMeddling create a breather before the news started up]], and [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory did not, in fact, imply anything]].* Nearly two decades after the series finale of ''Series/FamilyTies'', and after a couple years of speculation from fans, Gary David Goldberg (the creator of the sitcom) has finally given his own input on [[http://garydavidgoldberg.com/blog/2008/02/wwakd_what_would_alex_keaton_d_1.html Alex P. Keaton's current political leanings]]. Quite naturally, his response has managed to alienate certain fans of the show. The speculations have arose during the 2006 US elections, where Michael J. Fox (who played Alex P. Keaton) was lobbying for the legalization of ESCR. Furthermore, Michael J. Fox has also given his input on Alex P. Keaton's current political leanings (and place of residence).* TV execs had told creator Ryan Murphy he had the greenlight for season 3 of ''{{Popular}},'' which is why the season 2 season finale was a cliffhanger. After the series was cancelled, Murphy released [[http://www.tv.com/popular/promblems/episode/46014/trivia.html?tag=overview;trivia;see_all_link#trivia the rough outline of season 3]] that he'd already worked out.* Dan Schneider who runs ''Series/ICarly'' is very active in this regard. In addition to twittering, set pictures and livejournal discussion, he also posts episodic fact sheets. Some of these contain WordOfGod interpretations of events on the show, one example from the iFight episode is that Carly was at least a little jealous when Freddie made some comments about Shelby being hot and future wife material.** His blog for the finale of the show, ''iGoodbye'' is an example of the creator using his WordOfGod to make things ''unclear'' rather than clearing up misconceptions. This episode featured a LastMinuteKiss moment between one pairing, and the other major pairings supporters were not happy with it. Knowing that he had a SpinOff show involving the 'third wheel' to promote, he took to his blog to creatively muddy the water, attempting to confuse the meaning behind the kisses, the romances, how much the romances meant in the context of the episode and the very idea that there was a romantic hookup involved. All without giving either side any additional content or clarity beyond what happened in the episode itself.* The ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise as a whole is subject to one of the more controversial "words of God" in science fiction fandom: Paramount Studios (owners of the franchise) and Gene Roddenberry (creator of the franchise) established prior to Roddenberry's death in 1991 that only live-action Star Trek productions count as official canon; the 1970s animated series plus the novels, comic books and other spinoffs were not to be counted. That hasn't stopped some creative script-writers from sneaking references and concepts from the "expanded universe" into TV episodes and films.** An attempt at subverting this occurred when Jeri Taylor, co-creator of ''Star Trek: Voyager'', wrote an original novel, ''Mosaic'', based upon characters she helped create. Although originally thought to be the first canonical novel, given her special status (the only other Trek creator to pen a Trek novel was Roddenberry himself when he wrote the novelization of ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture''), it was later confirmed that the non-canon rule still applied, even to Taylor's novels.*** What ultimately came of it was that, while Taylor may have intended ''Mosaic,'' as well as a follow-up novel focused on the other characters, ''Pathways,'' to be the canon background and story for the characters, and while she may have had these backgrounds in mind during her time on the show, once she stepped down from her position as executive producer, later material could and was established that was contradictory with them.*** D.C. Fontana is also considered a Trek creator. She wrote much of the continuity for TOS including Spock's background, plus several episodes. Her animated-series episode ''Yesteryear'' is generally regarded as canon. Her novel ''Vulcan's Glory'', is accepted as canon by many fans, but officially it is not.*** In the opening when the Voyager tips its underbelly to reveal three gray patches. [[http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/CGI#Computer_software John Gross of Ambilin Imaging *and later Digital Muse and EdenFX* ends up confirming what should be considered a very minor]] SpecialEffectsFailure as those three gray patches are where texture should go.** He also canonicized the proper term for a Star Trek fan. Once at a convention, he used the term "Trekkie" and a fan corrected him with "Trekker" - the response? "No, it's ''Trekkie''. I should know, I created them!"* On a now-defunct section of Sony's website, ''WheelOfFortune'' host Pat Sajak said that the show got rid of the returning-champions format because it was deemed unfair: a contestant might be great at solving puzzles, but have little to show for it thanks to just one Bankrupt, while the dummy of the group could end up having victory dumped in his lap again and again.* Creator/JMichaelStraczynski, creator of ''Series/BabylonFive'', was one of the first to interact directly with fans via the Internet, via [=USENet=] and [=CompuServe=]. He often directly answered fan questions, explaining many things about each episode. Fan website [[http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/lurker.html The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5]] has archived most, if not all, of his comments, sorted by episode. A more direct link is [[http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/eplist.html here]].* The ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode Remedial Chaos Theory has the show's timeline branching based on the outcome of a roll of a die. Due to the episode being aired out of order some plot details from the episode intended to air after it such as [[spoiler: Shirley calling Britta's lighter a Marijuana Lighter]] implied the canon timeline was the one based on the winner of the roll being [[spoiler: Abed]]. Word of God in the form of a blog post from show creator Dan Harmon on his official blog (Entitled [[http://danharmon.tumblr.com/post/11469117959/fine-were-geniuses-but-not-evil-geniuses "Fine, we're geniuses but not EVIL geniuses"]]) apologized for the confusion and stated that the canon timeline was actually [[spoiler: Abed grabbing the dice, making Jeff get the pizza.]]* In the eighth season finale of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', the Janitor finally reveals his real name as [[spoiler: Glen Matthews]]. Throughout the series, the Janitor has many aliases, and seconds later after he reveals his "real name", someone walking by calls him [[spoiler:"Tommy"]]. However, series creator Bill Lawrence stated on his [[https://twitter.com/VDOOZER/status/208427676892004352 Twitter account]] that [[spoiler: Glen Matthews]] is the Janitor's real name.* ''Series/HoratioHornblower'': According to Creator/JamieBamber, the character he portrayed, Midshipman (later Lieutenant) Archie Kennedy, is the third son of a Scottish lord. He mentioned it in an interview for the A&E Network and it appears in the book ''The Making of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower''. Given Archie's status as a CompositeCharacter and AscendedExtra, the majority of his backstory is composed of either the actors' and writers' statements about him, or {{Fanon}}.* The creators of ''Series/OnceUponATime'' revealed a [[https://twitter.com/adamhorowitzla/status/331193232832749568 few more details]] on Neal's 'betrayal' of Emma on twitter, mainly that [[spoiler: he was going to abandon her with the yellow bug and a large sum of money so she could go to Storybrooke, believing himself to be 'in the way' of her reuniting with her parents, but August was the one who set Emma up for going to jail. August also took the money Neal left for Emma and used it to pay himself a trip to Nepal]]. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]* It's often speculated that the Generation X/Billy Idol song "Dancing with Myself" is about masturbation, but according to Idol, no, it really ''is'' about actually dancing without a partner. The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VNx78SAq8M clip]] shows him dancing by himself ''because everybody else died and became zombies.''* Unusually for BobDylan, he has officially confirmed the subject of his song Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands - it's about his wife Sara. (See his song 'Sara' which contains the lyric 'Writing Sad Eyed Lady for you'.)* The website [[http://rapgenius.com/ Rap Genius]], which allows users to provide analysis of rap songs, also allows for musicians/producers to provide insight on the lyrics.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]* When he was asked about the gender of his character ''ComicStrip/KrazyKat'', George Herriman is [[http://stevestiles.com/krazy.htm quoted as having said]]:-->"I don't know. I fooled around with it once; began to think the Kat is a girl, even drew up some strips with her being pregnant. It wasn't the Kat any more. Then I realized Krazy was something like a sprite, an elf. They have no sex. So the Kat can't be a he or a she. The Kat's a spirit- a pixie- free to butt into anything. See what I mean?"** Despite this, the 1962 animated series made Krazy explicitly female, to avoid controversy.* Concerning the middle initial of Olivier B. Bommel, Oliver B. Bumble for the anglophones, there is a historic disagreement of Words of Gods, it was declared to be short for "Berendinus" on the letter page of the Tom Poes weekly magazine by an editor, but the author and creator stated clearly that the B. was just an initial.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* The CCG ''[[TableTopGame/YuGiOh Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' game has what's known as "BKSS -- Because Konami Said So", a phenomenon where certain cards are given rulings that make no sense whatsoever, but are rendered iron-clad enforceable, because Konami -- the game's creator -- said that's how it went. At one point, UDE, the English ''Yu-Gi-Oh'' distributor, refused to administer a ruling on the card "Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster" that completely contradicted the card's text itself; when this discrepancy was pointed out to them, even Konami themselves admitted that the ruling was in error, yet still refused to change it.* ''MagicTheGathering'' has a seasonally updated database that updates the wording of ''every'' card in the game, to the point that year-old cards already have official wordings that differ from what is printed on the cards. While these changes do not usually affect how the cards work, every so often the game is given a major overhaul that changes many things at once. Changes to timing rules with the advent of 6th Edition, the Grand Creature Type Update of 2007, and the changes to combat rules and terminology for Magic 2010 come to mind.** The card Time Vault. For many years, Wizards of the Coast had evoked errata to curb card power and keep what were considered the 'functional intent' cards in place. After sweeping cleanup of power controlling errata on other cards, Time Vault continued to suffer with such errata under the claim that it was the functional intent of the card. Eventually, a player was able to address Richard Garfield, creator of Magic, about the card. Garfield confirmed the card was supposed to function as it was originally printed. The errata was fully undone shortly afterwards.* Gary Gygax, in the years before his death, went onto a number of Internet forums and served as something of a Word of God in that he offered rules clarifications and design justifications for the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' rules system he created.* Another example in D&D comes from Keith Baker's presence on the official Dungeons and Dragons forums, where he goes by the handle [=HellCow=]. As creator of the TabletopGame/{{Eberron}} Campaign Setting, his posts regarding the world of Eberron are largely taken as "Word of God" for the setting, though he purposefully makes sure that he is ambiguous enough that [=DMs=] can make their own choices on how they want their world to run.* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' has the "Word of Kromm", referring to the rule interpretations of Sean Punch who not only designed much of the third and fourth editions but is the editor of all official material put out for the game.* After going "it's only the most popular theory" for dozens of books, in the Gehenna book WhiteWolf make it very clear: [[TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade Caine was the first vampire.]]* The writers for ''{{Exalted}}'' appear regularly on both the White Wolf forums and rpgnet and say a great deal...or, more often, offer a few tidbits for a forthcoming release while giggling and waving non-disclosure agreements. [[http://exalted.xi.co.nz/wiki/WriterQuotes Here]] and [[http://nobilis.me/quotes-exalted here]] are collections of said Words, the latter skewing more towards the current writing team.* 2E ''MutantsAndMasterminds'' had [[http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewforum.php?f=18 a forum]] for system developer Steve Kenson to answer the questions of the players although he often answered questions indicating that a particular ruling was only his opinion in his games.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]* Creator/SamuelBeckett's ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot'':** He told Colin Duckworth that Pozzo is '''not''' Godot. The statement is quoted in the introduction to Duckworth’s ''En attendant Godot''** He also said numerous times that "Godot is not God".[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* The Exile in ''[[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic Knights of the Old Republic 2]]'' is canonically female, which caused an outcry among fans, since the Handmaiden romance was far more interesting and rounded than the alternative. This was ''likely'' in response to the angry response in making Revan canonically male, despite Female Revan fanfic and fan art having a 5:1 ratio over male Revans. Making the whole thing clear as mud is that while Leland Chee (the canon keeper of the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse) declared the canonical genders of male Revan and female Exile, WordOfGod from BioWare and Obsidian was the ''opposite.'' Obsidian's own trailer and promo art refer to Exile as "he" while David Gailder of BioWare went on fan boards and admitted he viewed the character of Revan as female, even writing an epilogue of sorts. For good or ill, it's the verdict from LucasArts that stands. Years later, Creator/DrewKarpyshyn (who wrote KOTOR 1 and created Revan) permanently defined the character as a man in his novel ''Revan''.* Most Word of God for the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series is collected at the "[[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2503050 Marc Laidlaw Vault]]" (named for the game's writer).* The ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series contains a great number of mysteries, many of which are introduced in one game, with potential answers hinted at in that game or its sequels, only for the true (and completely different) answers to be revealed in even later games. To this end, in the credits for ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'', the final game which answers all important questions, Creator/HideoKojima (the series' creator) is credited as the "Voice of God".* The Japan-only video game ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Neon Genesis Evangelion 2]]'' had a set of unlockable files, supposedly based on those of the shadowy organization SEELE and revealing the deep secrets of the series, based on a series of interviews with the show's creator, Hideaki Anno. The extra information might not allow ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' to make complete sense, but it certainly does help...** The main oddity is that the supposed God is notoriously unwilling to divulge any information about the series he worked on, generally advocating "Death of the Author" to the point of "Suicide of the Author". All the actual information seems to have come from an older Proposal, which could technically fit, but just somehow feels....off in relation to the actual finished product.* In 2011 a ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' art book and encyclopedia called Hyrule Historia came out included with an in-game timeline section from director Eiji Aonuma. This timeline is Nintendo's first complete document on the series chronology, which up until that point had been solely the realm of vague hints and fans WildMassGuessing.** A less timeline-centric WordOfGod involved confirmation that the Zora became the Rito, a fact only loosely hinted at by Medli's implied Ruto ancestry in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]''.** Another statement from Hyrule Historia is that the [[SpiritAdvisor Hero's Shade]] from [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]] is the spiritual manifestation of the regrets of the Link seen in [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]. * The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Dojo'' includes a lot of clarifying information about the storyline of ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', since all the characters are [[HeroicMime Heroic Mimes]].* Back in the old days of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'', there was much confusion regarding Super Mutant sterility especially given an offhanded comment made by a certain Super Mutant. And lo', clarification was given by Chris Avellone in the Fallout Bible that said comment was indeed a poor-taste joke and that mutants ''were definitely and undeniably '''sterile''''', Despite this, the entire community ''ignored'' this and still bicker amongst themselves like frellin' idiots to this day. Amen.* There's still a ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' fan controversy although The Word from the lead designer is: [[http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=912940=140=13586107entry13586107 Fawkes ''is'' and ''was'' male.]]** Look at his vault suit tatters. The seam patterns match the Male vault suit. This could have been cinched before it got out of hand. [[EpilepticTrees Though it's likely someone who can't let it go will insist "she" was crossdressing or something.]]* ''ShadowOfTheColossus'' featured sixteen colossi that are not named in-game. Eventually names started to pop-up with sources claiming to be from either Dengeki or Famitsu, which are usually Word Of God sources for Japanese games. Fumito Ueda eventually stated in the official artbook that none of the colossi have names -- only nicknames given by the staff during development.* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' with the death of [[spoiler: Albert Wesker]], a major plot driven and entirely important story character. This drove fans to disbelieve his fate heavily, many of which fought between each other as to the character's potential mortality. Lo and behold, Hand of God states in a paraphrase that "[[spoiler:Wesker]] will NEVER return". However, most fans have either accepted it or rejected it entirely based on different reasons. Even years afterwards, some fans still believe the word to be wrong, regardless of already being possibly replaced [[spoiler: which is hinted in the game as him having a brother who may be alive]].** The exact words of producer Masachika Kawata: [[spoiler: [[http://ps3.ign.com/articles/100/1006931p1.html "Even if you want Albert Wesker to come back, there's no chance he's coming back from that."]]]]* TheMedic from VideoGame/TeamFortress2 despite have numerous allusions to the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis]] in his spoken lines and overall character, the creators have said that he is in fact not a former Nazi.--> "Medic is not a Nazi not because it’d offend people, but because it’d be too easy/lazy to slap that kind of label on him. They want a more dynamic character."* In a September 2012 interview with Game Informer, Mario creator Shigeru Miyomoto had this to say: "[Nintendo's] current story is that the seven Koopalings are not Bowser's children" .* According to this [[http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3172364 interview]] with ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'''s staff, all the entries in the ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' series ''do'' in fact take place in the same verse.** Related to that, an interview with Atlus in P4's [=DoubleJump=] guide confirms that the blue butterflies in ''{{Persona 3}}'' and ''4'' are supposed to be Philemon.* At the end of the ''VideoGame/DarkSeed'' 2 [[{{WebVideo/Retsupurae}} wrongpurae]], LetsPlay/{{slowbeef}} said he contacted the creator of the game, who said that it was intentionally left vague [[spoiler:whether or not the dark world actually exists, or if Mike Dawson is just crazy.]] Fortunately, nobody cares about Dark Seed canon.* At [[Franchse/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic Boom 2012]], Takashi Iizuka confirmed the canonical backstories of Silver the Hedgehog, Eggman Nega and Blaze the Cat.[[note]]Silver and Nega are from the future of Sonic's world as said in [[VideoGame/SonicRivals the Rivals series]], while Blaze is a princess from another dimension as said in [[VideoGame/SonicRushSeries the Rush series]][[/note]] At Sonic Boom 2013, he also explained why [[PlotHole the moon looks fine in every Sonic game set after]] ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'': it's still blown in half, it's just the "good" side we see.* During ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', several characters make comments that hint that Fenris' former master, Danarius, had....[[SexSlave more]] interest in him than just a super-powered bodyguard. Bioware eventually confirmed this.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' creator Rich Burlew has outright stated, ''several times'' that [[VillainProtagonist Belkar]] is ChaoticEvil (and no other alignment is remotely compatible with either his observed behavior ''or'' things like the effects, or lack thereof, of various spells on him); this doesn't stop some fans [[DracoInLeatherPants insisting]] that he is ChaoticNeutral. He's said it in the Giant In The Playground forums, he put it in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0489.html this comic]], not only explicitly states that Belkar is Chaotic Evil, but [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it by making it the ''literal'' Word of Archon (angel). And if you still don't believe it (fool), Belkar even says so ''himself'' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0610.html here]]* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' creator Brian Clevinger has had to repeatedly enforce the idea that Black Belt was KilledOffForReal to the point where a strip which was (presumably) created to actually shoot down a fan theory was titled "[[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2005/11/10/episode-622-now-shut-up/ Now Shut Up]]".* Similarly, the writer of ''In Wily's Defense'' assures quite often that [[spoiler: Pharoah Man]] is dead for good and created a strip to reaffirm that.* Tom Siddell, author of ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', is very helpful about providing background info and answering fan questions. So much, in fact, that it's become necessary to [[http://gunnerkrigg.wikia.com/wiki/Word_of_Tom make an index]](called the Word of Tom) to keep track of it all. There were two threads on the forum (54 combined pages, and counting) consisting of nothing but Tom answering fans' questions. The forum threads have since been abandoned in favor of [[http://www.formspring.me/gunnerkrigg Tom's formspring account]], in which he has answered over 5000 questions at the time of this edit* In an ''WebComic/IrregularWebcomic'' [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/draakslair/viewtopic.php?t=2898 forum thread]]:-->Does that mean, that every Death was originally the first person to die by that method?-->No, it doesn't mean that at all. In #1970: "ACCORDIN' TO THE LAWS OF THE OONIVERSE, CHOO'RE NOW DEFF OF GOIN' BACK IN TIME 'N' MURDERIN' CHORESELF." But what exactly the relevant law is, is not explained. It may or may not have anything to do with being the first person to have gone back in time and murdered oneself. Word Of God.* Averted in the ''WebComic/{{Erfworld}}'' IRC. According to a "news" post on the main site, "You may NOT quote what I say as Word of God. There's a lot of thinking out loud. Anything I say in there is not canon, and may be changed, ignored, or totally reversed."* T Campbell of ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'' often responds on the forum to questions about aspects of, or incidents in, the characters' lives not covered in the comic, as long as answering wouldn't constitute a spoiler or limit his future options.* In [[UltimaJava Ultima-Java's]] UJ-verse a lot of the unimportant background and world establishing information is described on the Wiki or through discussion on the UJ Forums.* In ''Webcomic/MobTies'', what Author Ninja says is law. Case in point: http://www.drunkduck.com/Mob_Ties/index.php?p=418923* Andrew Hussie, creator of ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'', has been pretty good about clarifying some of the [[MindScrew more vague plot points]] of the latest series, ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. A RecapEpisode featuring his AuthorAvatar immediately after the one-year anniversary update particularly squashed a few misconception that were floating around the fandom.** He also answers fan questions on his [[http://www.formspring.me/mspadventures formspring]], though he is just as likely subvert it by responding to persistently asked questions with "I don't know. At this point I'm probably just withholding those details to bug people."** He is also a fully-fledged TeasingCreator who takes advantage of this trope to do things to annoy his fanbase, like [[http://mspandrew.tumblr.com/post/12680094125/answers declare]] all the [[SailorEarth fantrolls]] "{{canon}}, even the [[MarySue shitty ones]]".* ''WebComic/{{Precocious}}'' creator Chrispy typically replies to the comments people leave in the comments section of each strip's page and explains things when necessary. As well as occasionally on his [[http://chrispco.blogspot.com/ blog]]. For example, he {{Jossed}} most of the potential [[invoked]][[ToyShip Toy Ships]]. * Tessa Stone, author of ''Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName'', has been very generous with her godly words both on [[http://vert-is-ninja.deviantart.com/ her Deviantart]] and in the TheRant.** Her Q&A session on Deviantart has elevated it to AllThereInTheManual. [[http://community.livejournal.com/hinabn/17394.html#cutid1]]* Dan Shive of ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has often answered questions through Q&A comics. He also used to do so through the forum but has since ceased posting because of repetitive, predictable complaining. He has started answering questions via [[http://www.formspring.me/DanShive formspring]] but seems to be very selective about which questions he answers. On the other hand he [[http://twitter.com/#!/dantheshive tweets]] liberally about El Goonish Shive, often using the hashtag #EGS and more recently [=#EGScomics=].* Doc Nickel of ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'' is a regular on his comic's forum, and frequently answers fan questions. He's not above [[ParodiedTrope poking fun]], either: in response to a fan's question on the forum [[BellisariosMaxim asking what had happened to the rest of Sandy's Egg McMuffin]], he [[InvokedTrope invoked Word of God]], then [[http://www.network54.com/Forum/9013/message/1334486332 had a bit of fun]].* Writers Steven Applebaum and Ryan Hoss of the sequel to the film Film/SuperMarioBros regularly add background information to each page, while further clarifying other issues in the comments.* The creators of ''Webcomic/ChildrenOfEldair'' often have comments below the comic panels, some of them [[{{Foreshadowing}} hinting at things yet to come]] or just commenting on the artwork in a particular frame.* The writers of ''Webcomic/ExterminatusNow'' pay attention to stuff posted on their comic's Wiki/TVTropes page, and posted [[http://exterminatusnow.co.uk/2014-02-26/blog/tvtropes-headscratchers/ this page]] to answer some questions on the {{Headscratchers}} tab.* Chris Hazelton, creator/writer/artist for ''{{Webcomic/Misfile}}'', has weighed in on many issues on the [[http://www.napalmluck.com/index.php?showtopic=5958 forum (registration required)]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* ''Literature/TalesOfMU'' has a lot of this, possibly driven by the blog format.* Stuart Slade, author of ''TheSalvationWar'', will answer any serious question about the logistics of his versions of Hell and Heaven and their relationship with our universe that isn't explicitly spelled out in the story itself. None of these are necessary to following the story, but they do make a great display of how much thought he puts into it.* Sam Hughes, the author of ''Literature/FineStructure'' has a page devoted to Q&A with the readers. During the original run of the story, he also clarified certain points as they were raised.* The Tim Tang Test, the hardest puzzle in the world (no-one has ever solved it!) has a chat box at the bottom of each level that lets you talk to anyone else taking the test. Almost every single day, Tim himself is on the chat box and is available to talk about anything.* Serris, the creator of the ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'' universe will answer any questions raised on the discussion topic and issue proclamations with regards to the canon as well.** Also, he has [[http://gangoffive.net/index.php?showtopic=6970&view=findpost&p=9149810 stated]] that the [[FunnyAnimal anthros]] were not [[{{animorphism}} human]] to [[WasOnceAMan begin with]].* Burnie Burns, writer of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', gave the community the chance to conduct [[http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1833878/Red%20vs.%20Blue/Burnie%20Interview.mp3 two]] [[http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-6478/TS-280090.mp3 interviews]] just for this purpose, so long as nobody asked questions about [[MysteriousPast Tex]] or future episodes. It is unclear whether or not that helped, though - some of the fan community believes his adherence to RuleOfFunny makes WildMassGuessing a fruitless endeavor, while others simply believe that [[LyingCreator Burnie lies]].* The author of ''Literature/ChaosFighters'' sometimes gives random explanations about random things in the ''Random Chaos Fighters Tidbit'' entries of [[http://journal-of-murazrai.xanga.com his personal journal]].* Due to its audio-only nature, ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' often requires Word of God for basic clarification. The [[http://commonplacebooks.com/faqs/ FAQ section]] on the Commonplace Books website provides a helpful guide on spelling the names of the characters. Woe upon those who try to spell ''Khoshekh'' without their assistance. * Many statements of canon in ''RolePlay/WeAreAllPokemonTrainers'' are often made either in the discussion thread, the wiki, or within the chatroom.* When WebVideo/MatthewSantoro was asked by a fan why he no longer uses Lorrenzo and Big Shine, his InUniverse clones, as characters, he said that [[http://youtu.be/6MsMoJfLcu4?t=22m14s they no longer reside in Canada and have moved to Florida]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* Regarding the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' ShipToShipCombat and the subsequent Zutara ShipSinking, Bryan and Mike have said multiple times that Aang and Katara were always meant to be the OfficialCouple as far back as when season one was still coming out. [[http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/interviews.php?id=18 One interview:]]--> '''BK:''' I think it's important to note one thing I have heard from the internet is that some fans have the idea we've put shipping into the show because they've asked for it...requested it. This is totally not the case. Mike and I like to do melodrama stuff and we wanted that in there. Not that it's all cheesy, but we wanted that from the get-go. Five years ago when we were developing this.--> '''MDD:''' Yeah, Aang-Katara, that romance. Some stuff developed along the way, and we're glad some fans are more receptive to that element of the show, but it was in the DNA of the thing from the start.** Nickelodeon's site states the final fate of Azula: [[spoiler:locked up in an asylum and monitored around the clock for her own protection. She just may have a chance of recovery in the future, however]]. This later gets fully canonized in [[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch a comic book sequel]].** Upon the conclusion of its sequel series ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Mike and Bryan confirmed on their [[http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/105916338157/korrasami-is-canon-you-can-celebrate-it-embrace personal]] [[http://michaeldantedimartino.tumblr.com/post/105916326500/korrasami-confirmed-now-that-korra-and-asamis#notes tumblrs]] that [[spoiler:Korra and Asami were indeed meant to be a couple]].* Following his split with Disney, ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' creator GregWeisman [[http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/faq/ has addressed]] many obscure questions otherwise unanswered by show material and is considered the authoritative source, to the point most fans do not consider the last season {{canon}}. The comic book moreover continues where the second season left off and completely ignores the third season.* The creators of ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', Bob Schooley and Mark [=McCorkle=], have said on numerous occasions that Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable will be together forever and were meant to get together from the start of the series. The director Steve Loter has said that the alien villains died, and that Shego and Drakken are definitely dating at the end of "[[StockSeriesFinales Graduation]]".* The creators of ''TheSimpsons'' often explain the "real meaning" of various episodes on DVD commentary--such as "Homer's Enemy" being about how a "normal" person couldn't survive in Springfield, or (more recently) "The Principal and the Pauper" being a jab at the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute idea.* Dwayne [=McDuffie=] ran [[http://dwaynemcduffie.com.lamphost.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=00edd79718b089661967297dadeb14c7 a Q&A thread]] about ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'', where he (among other things) clarified such contested points as Gwen's magic and Kevin's powers. Some fans like to ignore it, because [[LyingCreator he lied]] once, about [[spoiler: Grandpa Max's fate]], though it could be said that lying was the only way to preserve any suspense when asked that question.* ''{{Transformers}}'' has featured numerous instances of this, but in particular, ''TransformersAnimated'' featured a [[ContinuityCameo cameo]] by an unnamed red Bumblebee-like robot. When character designer Derrick Wyatt saw that [=TFWiki.net=], in accordance with its policies on nameless characters, was referring to the character as "Little red Autobot," he wrote in and told them that the character was indeed named Cliffjumper and the page should be [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Cliffjumper_(Animated) moved to that name.]]** Also, he clarified Alpha Trion's role in the Autobot government (He's the civilian leader, as opposed to Ultra Magnus' military leadership).** Two volumes of a book called ''The Allspark Almanac'' have been published. It is comprised of almost entirely Word of God, including things like the name of the planet Sentinel, Optimus, and Elita visit in “Along came a spider” [[spoiler:Archa-7]]; the name of Ultra Magnus' hammer [[spoiler:The Stormbringer]]; what Meltdown's creatures were before they were mutated [[spoiler:his lawyer and stock broker]]; and the name of his company [[spoiler:Biotech Unbound]].* If you want some Word of God relating to ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers,'' swing by [[http://www.adultswim.com/shows/venturebros/indexpage.html#video the official site]] and watch some of the authors' appearances at conventions. (Beware, the third season finale is relentlessly spoiled.) They are just as likely to provide background information as they are ShrugOfGod and AscendedFanon, and are very entertaining while doing it. The DVD commentary also has tons of info that didn't make it into the show.** [[http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com Jackson Publick's LiveJournal]] and [[http://www.myspace.com/dochammer Doc Hammer's old MySpace page]] are good too.* On JhonenVasquez's {{Facebook}} page is this little paragraph ''that can now be considered as canon'':-->"I'm several hundred years aware of some of you wanting more [[WesternAnimation/InvaderZim ZIM]] or [[JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac JTHM]], and I think it's very flattering that you'd like that old stuff of mine so much, but exercise some restraint and refrain from screaming about that, please. It's 2009, guys. [[OhCrap ZIM crashed while on routine surveillance and burned to death in terrible pain.]]"* [[http://edwardkay.net/blog/2009/04/30/illustrator-wanted-jimmy-two-shoes-goes-to-asia-oz/comment-page-1/ This interview]] by Edward Kay contains several insights on ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', including [[WhatCouldHaveBeen some original concepts]] and design choices about Heloise.* In both the ''WesternAnimation/{{Franklin}}'' books and animated series, the character Badger walks using crutches. Though it has never been stated on either of those, Word of God on the official Internet site for the series revealed that she has cerebral palsy.* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' provided very little backstory for most of the main characters and none at all for the characters created specifically for the show who never appeared in the original comics. However, Word Of God from Amy Wolfram has given us an origin story for the Amazing Mumbo: he was an ordinary StageMagician who got his hands on a real magic wand, which gave him FunctionalMagic at the [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity expense of his sanity]]. This is stated in the special features on the third season DVD.* DwayneMcDuffie, creator of ''StaticShock'', has stated [[http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=226749&page=5 here]] that Richie, Static's sidekick and best friend, is in fact [[WordofGay gay]], as is his comic book counterpart. When asked if Static knew, he replied "Not yet."* LaurenFaust often provides supplementary details for ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' in her Website/DeviantArt page [[http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/ seen here]]. As her role on the show is now only as consultant and script producer, she makes sure to note that the information she provides should not be considered canon.* Dan Norton, the art director of ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats 2011}} [=ThunderCats (2011)=]]]'' set up a [[http://crewofomens.tumblr.com/ Crew of Omens blog]] to answer fan questions and also uses [[http://dingo107.deviantart.com/ deviantArt]] to post concept art and model sheets, frequently posting fan art on the blog, including both Yaoi and FetishFuel art.* Creator/PendletonWard's [[http://www.formspring.me/buenothebear formspring]] almost seems to contain more background information about ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' than the show itself does. If you include WordOfSaintPaul from creative director Adam Muto, character designer Natasha Allegri, and others, there's no contest. Ages, species, lands, history, clarification, there's a lot on there. (This may be in part because of Adventure Time's notoriously RuleOfCool driven nature.) Notably, Ward confirmed that Ooo is set AfterTheEnd years before this was explicitly confirmed in the show itself. * In ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', it states that Elsa was born with her powers but never says why. Jennifer Lee [[http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-128-frozen-with-jennifer-lee-transcript later revealed]] (about a third down) that one child is born with ice magic 1,000 years after [[WhenThePlanetsAlign an alignment of Saturn]]. It was going to be explained in the film itself but was cut, because [[MagicAIsMagicA the more you learn about a world's magic, the more questions you have about how it works]], plus it would have been [[ExpositionFairy too explanatory]] and take away from the plot's focus.* Jorge Gutiérrez really likes to give tidbits of his characters/answer fan questions regarding ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife''. There's enough of this trope in the movie for it to have [[WordOfGod/TheBookOfLife its own separate page]].* Producters Craig Kyle, Kyle Yost, and Greg Johnson have said that ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen'', the "Wolverine" short of ''WesternAnimation/HulkVS'', and ''WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' all take place in the same universe, despite the countless continuity snarls that seem to say otherwise. [[GodNeverSaidThat However,]] they've never said the same thing of the "Thor" short in ''Hulk Vs.''

[[/folder]]

!!Examples that need identification of the source:

''If you know when or where this was said, please add that information and move the example to the "identified" section.''

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* The author of the ''Manga/SailorMoon'' manga has affirmed that the characters of Haruka Tenou (Sailor Uranus) and Michiru Kaiou (Sailor Neptune) were intended as a lesbian couple. This is heavily hinted at in both the [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]] and manga, but [[HideYourLesbians never stated outright]] and occasionally a point of contention among some fans.** Another Sailor Moon statement is the identity of Sailor Cosmos which shows word of god can be very vague. She stated that "In the very last manga, the last book, she is the future Sailor Moon." but canon also states that Usagi lost her powers as a Senshi after becoming Queen. Many fans assume she's Chibi-Usa's sister or Daughter, which are both also ruled out. Those who do the reading assume she's a future incarnation but it's unknown if that theory is right or not.* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': Gainax Studio, among other things, has claimed that Kamina is a virgin, Simon isn't, and Viral is a shark with feline genetics.* The odd translation errors like "New Yark" and the "Great Canyon" from the dub of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' were not actually errors. According to one translator, YoshiyukiTomino himself (or "a little bald wizard," as the translator put it) requested the changes; this would not be surprising at all considering the same little bald wizard requested that one episode be taken out of the US release, for [[OffModel very obvious reasons.]]* For ''Anime/CodeGeass'' the WordOfGod, according to the writer, is that [[spoiler: Lelouch is, in fact, dead, despite a popular fan theory that he is 'the cart-driver' in the final scene. The Official Guide Book repeatedly mentions Lelouch's passing and the Special Edition Zero Requiem DVD replaces the entire last scene with a monologue by C.C. expressing her sadness over Lelouch's death. However, many fans choose to discount this with the theory that his identity as Lelouch vi Britannia is dead, but he might be living on as an immortal.]].** At the same time, the director has made statements that can be taken as WordOfDante, in the sense that he prefers ShrugOfGod and leaving it to the fans to decide for themselves, which adds fuel to the fire and polarizes an already badly BrokenBase.* Hideaki Anno, creator of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', does not often comment on Eva unless he feels it is an important issue. The most famous of his statements is the one [[{{Jossed}} jossing]] the theory that [[spoiler: Misato shot Kaji]]. He specified that it was a nameless security agent.** The production team have commented on Rei as well, [[HairColors such as her not being an albino]] and her weird-but-nonsexual relationship with Gendo.* ''[[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]'' has had RumikoTakahashi state that the Jusenkyo Nanniichuan (Spring of Drowned Man) will cure Ranma and the other cursed men. It's possible that this clarification would never have needed to have been made, if not for an early plot hole (the Saotomes not getting cured right there and then, and then following the guide to the Joketsuzoku) that then developed a {{Fanon}} theory of its own, and, worse still, a villainous character returning with an extra curse having been "merged" into his original one.** Similarly, the reason many fans of the series deride Akari Unryuu as a RelationshipSue is because the author has admitted she was created solely for the purpose of giving Ryoga a "happy ending" and someone else to chase after besides Akane when TheRival managed to become so popular with the fans.** And regarding the endless fan speculation about whether girl Ranma can [[MPreg get knocked up]]: [[spoiler:"I don't think about that, and you shouldn't either!"]]* The creator of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' has insisted that IdiotHero Gourry Gabriev actually has the potential to be a sorcerer of power perhaps equal to Lina Inverse -- it's just his Swiss-cheese memory stops him.* The director of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' has stated that there's Digidestined in every country. We just didn't get to see all of them because it would've expanded the series by a good hundred or so more episodes.* [[RaveMaster Hiro Mashima]] has been providing Del Rey with official translations for the names of the characters in ''Manga/FairyTail'' to avoid [[SpellMyNameWithAnS disputes over what the characters' names should be spelled as]]. Apparently, though, the names guessed up for the scanlations before Del Rey provided the actual translations are just cooler.** Except for the fact this may be a case of the [[ShrugOfGod creator not being sure himself]], if [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ft_screencap1.jpg this]] is any indication.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comics]]* Scott Lobdell himself stated he was very surprised at the amount of controversy the first issue of ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws'' caused. He goes on to say that he doesn't see why people see Starfire as an ADD-stricken EthicalSlut. He also assures disgruntled readers to keep reading, as answers will be revealed later, not that this has stopped some people from dropping the book outright.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]* ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' left plenty of questions unanswered and a few {{Sequel Hook}}s, and with Transformers fans being who they are have asked a lot of questions. One in particular was whether or not [[TheStarscream Starscream]] took part in the [[spoiler:F-22 assault on Megatron hiding in his alternate form.]] It would certainly be in tradition with the character, and the writers have said Sure Why Not so far. Another question was the unexplained absence of Barricade from the final battle. The comic book depicted him being killed by Optimus Prime, but the writers said they did it deliberately to bring him back in the sequel, ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen''. Despite this, Barricade makes no appearance. He ''did'', however, appear in the climatic battle of ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon''.* Richard O'Brien has stated that it was actually Riff Raff, and not Dr. Frank N. Furter, who did most of the work on Rocky in ''TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''.** Richard has also stated that the reason [[FanNickname Riff]] killed Frank is because Riff was jealous.* Jon Favreau, the director of ''Film/IronMan'', has stated that The Ten Rings, the terrorist organization that kidnaps Tony at the beginning of the film, in fact, works for The Mandarin, one of Iron Man's enemies from the comics.** [[spoiler: As of ''Film/IronMan3'', this seems to be Jossed due to the true nature of The Mandarin.]]** [[spoiler: Unjossed as of All Hail The King, which states that there is a real Mandarin who is angry about his name being stolen.]]* StephenSondheim has gone on record saying that [[MadLove Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney]] from ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' DID have sex, disappointing or disgusting many fans. This appears to be averted in the movie version, where Sweeney balks from kissing her in her own fantasy sequence. It's also averted in several theatre productions, including the 2012 London one with Michael Ball. As she sings ''By The Sea'', he ignores her completely in favour of reading the newspaper.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles:'' "Justin's dead! D-E-D dead!", frequent reply of the author to fan theories that Harry Dresden's EvilMentor (whom, canonically, Harry burned to death) may somehow still be alive, and involved in the events of the various novels.** As of ''Changes'', Jim states that [[spoiler: Harry is D-E-D dead, and we know the series isn't over yet.]] This sparks even more discussion, as some believe Justin will come back [[spoiler: with or after Harry]] or that they [[spoiler: will meet in the afterlife, or wherever Harry winds up in Ghost Story]]*** As of ''Ghost Story'': [[spoiler: Harry isn't dead, but his soul is removed from his body. His body was technically kept alive by Mab and the genus loci of Demonreach. He gets better.]]** According to [[WordOfGod Word Of Jim]], one of "Gentleman" Jonny Marcone's bodyguards Cujo Hendricks, believed by Harry Dresden to be a dumb thug, is actually working on his Doctorate and quotes classic literature when he disagrees with his employer. In the Marcone [=PoV=] story "Even Hand", Cujo allegedly shows his TrueColors.** [[http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,21772.0.html This]] is a link to a guide to most of the Words of Jim.* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Though it's only hinted at in the actual books, Word Of God has revealed that Cinderpelt and Firestar is a canon pairing... sort of. Firestar, being a complete idiot when it comes to she-cats, still thinks he and Cinderpelt were "JustFriends". The author(s) often give out Word Of God statements. Though many questions are answered with a "why, I can't tell you that" response, fans have learned such things as [[spoiler:Firestar and Scourge being half-brothers]] and [[spoiler:Leopardstar was in love with Tigerstar]].* In the ''{{Dragonlance}}'' series of books, it is rumored, debated, and shot down by a character, that Usha is Raistlin's daughter. The books never revealed the truth in certain terms however, and debate among readers raged for years until the authors, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman answered the question definitively: [[spoiler:That she is not Raistlin's daughter.]]* The creator of ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' stated that the reason why Jacob was so fixated on Bella up until Renesmee's birth was because he sensed the child's egg inside her mother, even before she was conceived. {{Squick}}.* Tom Angleberger, author of [[Literature/OrigamiYoda the]] ''Literature/OrigamiYoda'' [[Literature/OrigamiYoda series]], has confirmed that his characters [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Dwight]] and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Harvey]] both have Asperger Syndrome.* The page for ''Literature/DestinedToLead'' has WordOfGod statements all over it. The author of the series is a frequent editor. Sometimes she posts tropes that will apply to future books before she publishes them, just so she won't forget![[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action Television]]

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "The Brain of Morbius" shows the faces of several actors who, depending on your interpretation of the scene, may be Doctors predating the canonical first Doctor. Despite the fact that the {{canon}} is very clear on the fact that the Doctor's lives are all accounted for, some people on the production staff have affirmed that they intended the faces to be earlier Doctors.** What today is regarded as canon in ''Series/DoctorWho'' was actually only settled on relatively late in the day. For example, it wasn't even established during "The Brain of Morbius" that Time Lords are limited to twelve regenerations (that was first mentioned in "The Deadly Assassin", broadcast the following year). Creator/TerranceDicks, onetime script editor of ''Doctor Who'' and the man who introduced the concept of the Time Lords themselves to the show, famously once stated that 'canon was what the production team could remember on any given day.'** When "The End of Time" aired, there was considerable dispute over the true identity of The Woman who kept showing up. Creator/RussellTDavies has confirmed that she is in fact meant to be [[spoiler: the Doctor's mother]], although they intentionally left it open to interpretation.* Creator of the tragically short lived PushingDaisies Bryan Fuller reveled how he envisioned the show ending in a TV Guide interview.** Emerson gets back together with his wife. The watches only led to a buried treasure and had no bearing on Ned's powers. The world finds out about Chuck and she goes off and travels with her parents to hide from the attention. She and Ned have a long, loving relationship. Many, many years later they finally kiss when Ned is on his deathbed and Chuck hasn't aged a day.* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' has occasionally relied on this, such as producer Mark Verheiden confirming that [[spoiler: Six was released from prison as part of President Lee Adama's amnesty to the rebel and Final Five Cylons in the episode "Revelations".]]** At times, the Word of God has simply made things more confused. In the episode "Hero" it is stated that Tigh and Adama served on the battlestar Valkyrie ''one year'' before the series begins and were moved to Galactica as punishment after a vital mission failed. This contradicts statements made in several other episodes that Adama had commanded Galactica for ''2-3 years'' prior to the series. And worse still, a document seen on-screen in the very same episode suggested he'd actually been in command of Galactica for ''six years''. When asked about the problem, producer Ronald D. Moore said there wasn't a problem, they'd worked it out behind the scenes and it all tracked, but didn't share this explanation with fans, leaving the situation unresolved. Many people resolve this by assuming they were moved ''back'' to Galactica from active duty on the Valkyrie, the punishment being command of an inactive ship.* ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' is stated to take place in an AlternateUniverse, separate from the other Ranger series. Good thing too, or else that would have meant all the previous Rangers and/or their descendants would have been horribly killed in the end and all their work for naught. This was later canonized when Scott crossed dimensions and guest-starred in ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai''.** On a lighter note, Tommy really does end up marrying Kat and Kimberly eventually marries Skull, although for [[DieForOurShip obvious reasons]], those little tidbits are all but ignored. Even when such relationships ''should'' get referenced in later series, the subject ''never'' comes up (Tommy's a regular in ''Dino Thunder'' but apparently still single, Skull's ''son'' appears in ''Samurai'' but his mom is never mentioned).** Also, ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'' had the writers explain a ''lot'' of things that had not been competently conveyed in the series itself.** Johnathan Tzachor, producer of the franchise for all of Saban's seasons, has claimed that any season he didn't produce either in part or full (''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'', ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'', ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'', ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'', ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'', ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'' and ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'') are no longer considered as being part of the franchise's canon. However, in this case he's been overruled by Saban.* There was some speculation that the FatherTed character Father Noel Furlong, a youth group leader, was having sex with the young people in his charge and was therefore a comment on paedophillia in the Catholic Church. (The fact that the character was played by GrahamNorton helped this view). The creators have confirmed that the character is actually asexual and the joke is that the character is too enthusiastic about the quite normal behaviour of the young people.* A strange example of this trope is ''TwinPeaks'', as creator DavidLynch has stated that he does not support the identity of Laura Palmer's killer being [[spoiler:her father]], as he was a victim to ExecutiveMeddling, and wanted the mystery of the killer to go on for the entire series. He therefore claims that the killer could be anybody.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]* Charles Schulz of ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' stated that Linus' belief in the Great Pumpkin is ''not'' and was ''never intended to be'' a metaphor for faith. Strips later in the run (featuring such things as Linus going door to door to spread the word of the Great Pumpkin, convincing Marcie before she is sent to be "deprogrammed" by her parents) suggest he was open to playing with the idea.** Other issues for which Schulz gave official answers include stating that the comic strip was canon and the animated specials and movies weren't, explaining how Snoopy can sleep on top of his doghouse (his ears lock him into place), confirming that Charlie Brown isn't bald (he has really short blond hair), and perhaps indirectly the Peppermint Patty-Marcie-lesbian issue (when asked whether he ever dealt with sexuality in Peanuts, he said "These are just little kids. That really puts a lid on it right there.")[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' creator Rick Priestly has confirmed that the two "missing" Primarchs exist to provide fodder for player-created Space Marine chapters and Chaos Space Marine Legions, and will never be identified.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* Nasu and the {{Nasuverse}}. Most fans chose to simply ignore Nasu's official statements since the [[FantasyKitchenSink Nasuverse]] is complex enough as it is. It also doesn't help that officially he isn't sure if the Forest of Einasshe thing in ''{{Tsukihime}}'' is canon or just [[RuleOfCool cool fluff.]]* The director of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has provided several minor clarifications regarding the storyline, including the facts that Ceaseless Discharge is the son of the Witch of Izalith (which was heavily hinted at by the Orange Charred Ring's description), that the Pendant is [[RedHerring totally unimportant]] (after some [[TrollingCreator trolling]] on the topic), and that [[spoiler: if Solaire survives to fight Gwyn with you, he [[FateWorseThanDeath Links the Fire]] in his own world]]. * In a 2008 interview, Creator/KeijiInafune addressed various things regarding ''Franchise/MegaMan''.** For the first, he {{Jossed}} the "Cataclysm" theory ([[spoiler:that Dr. Wily had [[Franchise/MegaManX Zero]] kill off the [[Franchise/MegaManClassic original cast]]]]), saying that is isn't in Zero's character.** Second, he confirmed that Dr. Wily [[spoiler: came back to life through the Zero Virus]].** An earlier example, a book called [[AllThereInTheManual Rockman Perfect Memories]], which is WordOfGod, confirmed that the ''VideoGame/MegamanLegends'' series is indeed part of the main timeline, taking place an unknown amount of time after the other series in the franchise. That same source also confirmed that the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' series take place in a separate timeline.* According to Shu Takumi, in at least one interview, the reason the police arrested a small child for the murder of a very tall man with an arm-dislocatingly strong revolver in the third case of ApolloJusticeAceAttorney is actually because [[spoiler: Daryan]] was using his position to interfere with the investigation.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]* ''Webcomic/MSFHigh'': There are no incubus in the msfhigh universe and there never will be. This is the only known race to be directly stated not to exist in the MSFHigh universe. Though it is for good reason.* [=CreepKnight=] and the Mass from ''Webcomic/VoodooWalrus'' are not in fact the same character.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':** Mike and Bryan have divulged that Aang does, in fact, have a tattoo there.** The two of them also confirmed that Jet [[spoiler: really is dead. In commentary, they laughed that he's now in "Hot Guy Heaven"]]. The in-series lack-of-clarity on the issue is later {{Lampshaded}} in season 3.** They've also confirmed that no, the Air Nomads as a people aren't gonna make a comeback. (which [[AdamAndEvePlot tends to fall on deaf ears.]]) Although the continuation in ''Korra'' does at least confirm that the discipline of airbending does survive.** A minor one from ''Korra'': After the RelationshipWritingFumble in season 1 that made Mako look like a cheating jerk, fans pounced on him advising Bolin to "pull off the leech" in his own bad relationship. Mike and Bryan stepped in and clarified that it was just a play on the expression "rip off the band-aid," and he wasn't calling Asami a leech.* Butch Hartman stated in an interview that the ghosts in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' are really monsters from a different dimension, that is [[PhantomZone the Ghost Zone]]. Explains why they can have offspring and apparently age, but doesn't explain why some were once human to begin with. This contradicts some of the actual dead ghosts in the series. However, Danny's mom once described them as something like "ectoplasmic manifestations of post-human consciousnenss", which implies that they're simply monsters that ''think'' they're dead humans.* The creators of ''HeyArnold!'' have purportedly stated that Helga's mother is an alcoholic, although they knew that saying so directly would never fly on Nickelodeon. Incidentally, they said in the same interview that Arnold's last name is [[spoiler:Shortman]].** In another interview, they confirmed that Arnold eventually ends up with Helga.* Dan Povenmire and "Swampy" Marsh, the creators of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' have responded to questions about a few issues, including the first names of the Fireside Girls. Povenmire also commented that both [[ToyShip Phineas and Isabella]] and [[PrecociousCrush Ferb and Vanessa]] would get together one day, even [[HookedUpAfterwards if it doesn't happen]] on the show.* In an interview, SteveBlum has stated that WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime [[TheStarscream Starscream]] once swallowed a bird. It remains unclear whether or not he was joking.* The Executive Producer of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' confirmed [[spoiler: Cassidy Williams and Ed Machine's]] deaths. It was common speculation that he may not have been telling the truth, and that they were just hiding. In the series finale, [[spoiler: Cassidy (and presumably Ed Machine) are both alive in the alternate timeline created by the destruction of the Nibiru Entity. This means that they actually did end up dying in the original timeline, as they never returned in it]].* People love the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Donnie and April relationship]] and have so many fan-works available. However, unbeknowst to some of them, the creators only made Donnie crush on April for comic relief. April's real love interest is introduced in season 2 and he's someone whom she's been paired up with since the original comics.* A fan once asked Britt Allcroft why [[WesternAnimation/TheMagicAdventuresOfMumfie Mumfie the elephant]] doesn't wear underwear. The reason? [[PeopleSitOnChairs It doesn't have any relevance or meaning to the plot]]. It was also stated that even if he was and it was relavent, the animators forgot to draw it on. But given the show's reputation for OffModel moments, especially in the later seasons, this isn't surprising.* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'': For ''WesternAnimation/ChannelChasers'''s DistantFinale involving Timmy's children Tommy and Tammy, Butch Hartman stated that the identity of their mother was supposed to be ambiguous and that they're supposed to have traits of all potential mothers.** However, as of ''LiveActionTV/AFairlyOddMovieGrowUpTimmyTurner'' and its sequels, this has been {{Jossed}} due to the fact that they [[CanonDiscontinuity retconned]] Channel Chasers' ending and by extension Tommy and Tammy Turner out of existence entirely.** Butch Hartman also stated that A.J.'s last name is not [[WordOfDante Ibraham]] and that he has no confirmed last name.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]* ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}'' story writer Greg Farshtey kept a good relationship with the fan community. Not only did Greg provide Word of God for any question a fan might have had, but he sometimes distributed advance information and occasionally allowed fans to influence minor details, with "Sure Why Not"? Around the time the franchise ended, Greg wanted and give the fans more of a say in where the story should go, but his newborn child kept him from this, and later LEGO adopted a rule that forbid him from talking to fans online. However, they still let him occasionally use the official LEGO message boards to answer fan questions.* Mark from ''Blog/FuckNoTvTropes'' is not:** A {{SomethingAwful}} goon** [=CrazyGoggs=]* When WebVideo/MatthewSantoro was asked which of his clones would win in a fight to the death, he said that surprisingly, it would be Eugene, the {{nerd}} - [[TheSmartGuy despite being physically weak, he would be able to build something like a tank to defend himself, because he's the only clone intelligent enough to do so]].[[/folder]]----